The present invention relates generally to lymphokines, and particularly to use of certain lymphokines to alleviate inflammation associated with arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic autoimmune disease of unknown cause, manifested as a chronic inflammation of synovial membranes. This chronic inflammation ultimately results in destruction of connective tissue surrounding the joints. The disease strikes between 1 and 3 percent of all North Americans and Europeans.
The present invention resides in the unexpected discovery that human interleukin-1 proteins are capable of alleviating experimentally induced intra-articular inflammation resembling the chronic synovitis of human rheumatoid arthritis. This discovery was facilitated by recent inventions which enabled production of useful quantities of substantially homogeneous recombinant human IL-1.
Interleukin-1 (IL-1) activity is attributable to proteins released by macrophages and other cell types in response to immunogenic stimulation. This family of proteins has been associated with a complex spectrum of biological activities. IL-1 is a primary immunostimulatory signal capable of inducing thymocyte proliferation via induction of interleukin-2 release, and stimulating proliferation and maturation of B-lymphocytes. In addition, IL-1 has been linked with prostaglandin production and induction of fever, and with promotion of wound healing. Reviews of the literature relating to IL-1 include Oppenheim et al., Immunol. Today 7:45 (1986), and Durum et al., Ann. Rev. Immunol. 3:263 (1985).